Love, Hate and Irony
by RomanceDoneWrite
Summary: We all know Pepper loves subtle revenge. What happens when her newest vengeful act plunges Tony into a summer full of love, hate and irony? Well all know Tony is allergic to the words "I love you." Promise story is better then the summary. Please read!
1. Pepper's Revenge

Harmony Clay took a deep breath. She could almost taste the rest of her life right in front of her. Harvard professor. Bio-physist. Hell, she could do anything if she didn't screw this up. Just stand tall and look pretty. And smart of course.  
No one ever got this kind of a chance. Harmony wasn't sure if she was violently nervous or wildly excited. Probably both. Sweeping her silky brown hair off her forehead in a graceful gesture, she blinked hard and took another gulp of air. Picking her suitcase up off the curb, shoulders squared and face steely, she plunged into the rest of her life.

"Jarvis? What is this doing here?" Tony glared fiercely at a pile of mail siting on his kitchen counter and scratched his head. Usually Pepper took care of this sort of crap. There had to be at least 200 letters there. Fan mail, junk mail, black mail, chain mail. Stuff he shouldn't have to deal with.  
After much debate, he swept every single last one into the gaping mouth of the trashcan.  
"Sir, are you sure that was very...responsible?" Jarvis' voice was obviously pained.  
"Hey, if Pepper doesn't sort my mail, no one does. Where is she, anyways?" Maybe it was true, he couldn't tie his shoelaces without her. Mail was just one of the many things he didn't have the time to do. Tony waved his arms in the air in a futile attempt to rid the cloudy kitchen of the acrid smoke.  
"How long till this airs out?" Tony coughed loudly and tried to ignore the piles of dirty dishes, left out food items, and numerous spills.  
"Approximately 32 minutes, sir," Jarvis replied meekly. "May I suggest not putting bagels in the microwave for over 15 minutes next time, sir?"  
"I didn't actually mean for them to stay in there for 15 minutes. I set it for 15 to be safe, and forgot about them." Tony frowned and collected an armful of dishes and dumped them into the sink.  
"Well, sir, according to my calculations, 30 seconds is the approximate time to heat a bagel or piece of bread."  
"Really? 30 seconds?" Tony rumpled his hair and surveyed the huge mish-mosh of wrecked kitchen. "You could have told me that."  
"You didn't ask, sir. And may I say, for a genius, you certainly don't use your head very much."  
"Um, I'll choose to ignore that." Tony kicked a spoon across the floor and leaned against the island. "Please answer my question, now."  
"Which inquiry are you referring to?"  
"The one about Pepper."  
"Which one? The one about her choice of undergarments, or about how many men she has -"  
"The one I just asked!" Tony snapped.  
"Miss Potts left for Alaska yesterday night."  
"Alaska?" Tony blinked dubiously. Pepper hated being cold, why on God's green earth why would she go to Alaska? He could just picture her flaming red hair tucked in a snow white, fur lined hooded coat.  
"Apparently Miss Potts has relatives there." Jarvis stated simply and went offline.  
Bending down to eat a peanut off the rug, Tony's loud crunching was suddenly punctuated by a knock on the door.  
"Jarvis, who is it?"  
"A woman." Jarvis replied dully. Tony nearly tripped over the end-table doing a hasty canter to the front door.  
"Yes?" In complete practiced finesse, Tony swung open the door and leaned against the frame, raising his eyebrows and smoldering.  
The girl gave him a disbelieving look. As if she was half disgusted, half astonished. Tony only relished half her expression. Quick profile.  
Age 25-30, five foot three, C-Cup, size 7 shoe, straight, dark brown long hair to the middle of her back, silky and sleek, large round pink lips. Natural features, she had no jobs done, not even a boob job. Bright hazel eyes flattered by ridiculously thick, dark eyelashes, and arched brown eyebrows, neatly groomed. Smelled of strawberries, straight teeth, perfectly white. Gorgeous blue sundress that showed off her long - also natural - tan legs.  
A pretty nice piece of work.  
But what intrigued Tony the most was that her beauty, which far surpassed any girl he had slept with, was all natural. Natural boobs, butt, lips, nose, eye color, tan, no extensions or airbrushing.  
He had struck gold.  
"Hi..." she smiled a bit timidly. "I'm Harmony Clay. It's very nice to meet you, Mr. Stark. Or would you prefer Anthony?"  
"Oh, please," Tony said, not flirtatiously or coyly, "Call me Tony."  
"Okay..." she blinked. "Mr. Stark, may I say it is a great pleasure to have this opportunity."  
What opportunity?  
"Excuse me?" It was Tony's turn to blink.  
"The summer internship." Harmony looked extremely nervous. "I spoke to Ms. Potts last night."  
Tony turned slowly on his heel, willing himself to not blow his stack.  
"PEPPER!" Tony yelled, and left Harmony standing in the doorway helplessly.

Everything was quickly falling apart. How could he have NOT been informed? So much for her life-breaking opportunity. "Excuse me?" He had said "Excuse me?" as if she was telling him,  
"Pardon me, Mr. Stark, but I've come to take your liver and sell it."  
Oh, yes, things were shaping up quite horribly.  
Harmony craned her neck to see inside the dark doorway. Tony had gone so far inside she couldn't see him. Well, she couldn't just stand in the doorway. Cautiously, she stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

"Pepper!" Tony's hands quivered in fury in their tight death grip around the unsuspecting phone.  
"Yes, Tony," Pepper sighed, as if she knew what was coming. Well, of course she did. Dirty snake.  
"You did this just to get me back from taping the mirror to my shoe," he hissed.  
"Did what?"  
"An intern! An INTERN!"  
Silence. Then -  
"Tony, it's not so bad. It's a woman, it's only the summer, she'll only be shadowing you when you work with physics and molecular structure. You're doing tests on them in your workshop all summer."  
Tony stopped his frantic pacing and raking his fingers through his hair.  
"See, that's the problem! All summer! ALL SUMMER, PEPPER! And judging by her tell-tale suitcase, let me guess, she'll be occupying the guest room?"  
"As a matter of fact, yes,"  
Tony growled his objection into the phone.  
"Oh, please."  
"Fine then, Miss Heart of Stone," Tony resumed his pacing. "This is your doing. Just...whatever!"  
"I will be back in three weeks, have a nice June, Mr. Stark."  
"I hate you," he shot back and hung up the phone.  
He whirled on his heel to go see if the girl was still there. There she stood, pursing her lips innocently, not three feet from him.  
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop," she said, brushing her hair back from her eyes.  
"Sure," he replied curtly. "I suppose I should show you your room." Without waiting for her response, he set off for the upstairs guest room.  
"Uh, Tony - I mean, Mr. Stark, have you not had this kitchen cleaned for months? I'd be happy to help." Harmony asked, pity filling her voice as they passed through the kitchen.  
"Actually, that mayhem is the product of my failed breakfast of peanut pancakes. And the smoke is from the flaming bagel." Smiling dryly, Tony drew her attention to a charred lump of ash in the kitchen sink, a thin line of smoke still curling lazily from it.  
Oh, lord.  
This was going to be a long summer for both of them.

**My first Tony/OC fanfiction. Did you likey? Please please leave a review, they make me happy!**  
**Luv,**  
**RomanceDoneWrite**


	2. Snooping the Hidden Girl

**Hey, thanks for all the amazing reviews! I really appreciate them. Please keep them coming. Sorry for not writing in so long but I planned on writing this weekend, but had a violent allergy attack and almost had to go to the hospital. But I am recovering and you deserve a chapter, so here ya go!**

**XxxxxX**

Harmony listened to the light sound of Tony's footsteps down the long hallway until they echoed into nothingness. She sat silently in the room, still clutching her ragged suitcase between icy fingers. It was like her dad was there; all over again, telling her she didn't deserve the opportunity. Like he was there, yelling at her, telling her he wish she'd never been born, and that it was all her fault her mother had left them.

She couldn't count the nights she had cried herself to sleep, rubbing ointment on the countless wounds on her face and arms. She had always been a problem. As if she hadn't learned it soon enough that a man could never fulfill her, she remembered her countless nights trying to fulfill their needs. The nights always ended with her sobbing into the carpet silently, silently calling herself a dirty slut.

Time seemed to slow, and Harmony felt tears spring to her eyes. This opportunity would be no different. She lay back on the bed silently, her suitcase clattering noisily to the floor, eyes fluttering shut.

It seemed like only minutes, but her watch told her it had been several hours when a knock loudly clanged on the door.

"Come in," Harmony said, sitting up.

"Hi," Tony stepped inside, rubbing the back of his neck . "I'm really sorry about that…ahem. That…uh, thing. You know? I was just a little…blindsided. See, my assistant, Pepper Potts-"

"You don't have to explain," Harmony snapped. "I completely understand."

"You…do?" Tony blinked.

"Of course," Harmony took in a deep breath. She knew she was about to say or do something she'd regret, but she didn't care. "You don't want me here."

"Uh-"

"You wish I was gone, you're pissed you're gonna have to spend ALL summer with a stupid little girl like me. And first mistake I make you're shipping me out of here," Harmony jerked up her chin sharply in anger. "Understood."

With a loud sniff, she snatched her suitcase off the bed and flounced into the bathroom and slammed the door behind her.

Tony was in total shock. He wasn't expecting THAT. Why did all the beautiful women have to be so damn hotheaded? There was more then met the eye to this girl, a deep burning bitterness and fiery spirit. Tony was torn between being disappointed at this development, and being a little happily surprised. Snoopily, Tony wandered around the room a bit, glancing at her suitcase, professional looking gray backpack and change of clothes she had laid out. Tasteful, yet casual. With a loud squeak and whir of water, the shower coughed to life in the bathroom. Good, he had more time. Tony quickly unzipped the front pocket of her backpack and slid his hand inside.

Several objects were inside. An iPhone, a birthday card and several other various items, neatly positioned. He opened the card. Inside it said, "Happy Birthday. Sorry what happened between us. Please come back. I really miss you. Love, Carter." Tony shoved the card back into the envelope. Who was Carter? He wondered what had happened between them. He slid his hand a little deeper into the pocket and his fingers found the hard leather case of something. A notebook? He pulled it out – it was a photo album. Bingo.

Flipping it open, he thumbed through the pages. First photo was a young girl with a shy smile in front of a small house in a run-down neighbor with a small brown dog next to her. Something was written in tiny handwriting at the bottom. "I will never go back."

How interesting. Yes, surely, Harmony had some deep, burning secrets. Next picture was her with a young man. She looked about 18, and the man had a snarling smile, and his arm around her shoulder possessively. Maybe this was Carter. The rest of the pages simply held other photos of men, some crossed out and hateful notes written upon, and a folded admission paper to Harvard, and a picture of her graduating suma-cum-laud from Yale. A female Einstein.

Tony had seen all he wanted to. He carefully arranged all the items back in her backpack and zipped it closed. He wasn't in the habit of going through people's belongings, but maybe this was an exception. He needed to know more about this girl, and he guessed she wasn't a open-up-and talk type.

XxxxX

It was almost an hour later when Harmony made an appearance. Tony was working silently in his lab on his physics-molecular project. It was his pet project and was trying to beat out other companies with it to gain a contract with Reinman and Stein Corporations.

Tony turned to look at the girl, almost slinking into the room. Her long hair hung down almost to her waist, falling in wet waves over her back, reminding him of some exotic, wild horse. She didn't say anything, simply sat on a stool next to Tony. He decided he would let her speak first. He continued to study the holographic image on his table and absentmindedly write equations in his notebook.

"Tony," she finally spoke, "I'm sorry, but-"

"I forgive you," Tony smiled.

"What?" Harmony frowned.

"What?" Tony sniffed. She still smelled strongly of strawberries, even more so. It must have been her shampoo.

"I was _trying _to say, 'I'm sorry, but you did that equation wrong'." She replied sourly.

"Huh?" Tony glanced down at the pad. Less than 12 hours with this girl and she had a unpleasant attitude and a smarty-pants mindset. How frustrating.

"Yes. You have the velocity as 53m/b. Its 78. You didn't calculate the density over mass," she cleared her throat and rest her chin on her hand.

"Oh," Tony scribbled out the problem. "Who cares." He looked away intentionally and ignored her.

Harmony stood up and crossed the room to the iron man suit and stood before it in awe.

"So…you're really Iron Man," she said softly.

"No, it's not me, it's my maid. Yes, it's me." Tony was thankful to make some sort of connection.

"Never seen the suit before. I mean, in person," Harmony said, "What does it do? I mean, I know what it does…but…you know. But…what does it do…exactly?"  
Tony tossed his gloves off and shut his notebook. With a crooked smile, he replied huskily,

"Want to see?"

**XxxxX**

**Well, yes, a premature fight and makeup, but it's just a prequel to further fights and makeups. Anyways, please leave comments! Just think what's gonna happen when Pepper gets back! The more you review the more I write, so please review. Me likey reviews, and lots of them!  
Hope you're enjoying the story. I hope to have an update up soon.**

**RomanceDoneWrite**


	3. Not Backing Down

Chapter 3

**Lucky for you, sleepless nights have spurred me onto writing quite a bit. So here is a QUICK update! Please R&R! **

"Are you gonna put the suit on?" Harmony, in spite of herself, felt herself falling into a childlike wonder, forgetting to keep her icy guard up.

"Sure," Tony said. "If you want me to."

"Yeah, uh…sure," Harmony smiled shyly, almost in an apologetic manner. Tony studied her face, rubbing his chin for a second.

"You…want to put the suit on?" he asked.

"Oh, no," Harmony shook her head. "I'd probably kill someone. Most likely myself. Not to say, I wouldn't _want _to, I just…I shouldn't." But Tony was already handing her the glove.

"Of course I'm not going to let you put the _whole _thing on," Tony smiled. "But you can put the arm and hand-piece on."

"Okay," Harmony was slightly consoled.

"Jarvis!" Tony clapped.

"Yes, sir," a British voice filled the room. Harmony jumped and clung onto the side of the table.

"Who…?" she blinked.

"Sorry to startle you, ma'am. I'm Jarvis, Tony's, well, Mr. Stark's everything. Especially considering Miss Potts is not in town." Jarvis explained meekly.

"Jarvis. Just a really very intelligent system. I designed him," Tony smiled.

"I might I say, sir, you did an excellent job," Jarvis added in, in almost a joking manner.

"I didn't know AI could be so…witty," Harmony said, still in awe.

"Then you haven't met Jarvis. He tends to be heavy on the sarcasm and ironic side," Tony helped Harmony slid her small hand into the large leather glove. "Jarvis, can you assemble the arm and hand piece for Harmony?"

"Yes sir," Jarvis replied, and a platform opened from the floor, rising up and assembling the pieces.

"Wow," Harmony totally forgot her sour attitude. Who could cling to trivial matters in the Stark mansion?

"Assembled and ready, sir," Jarvis notified crisply.

"Go ahead, give a whirl," Tony egged Harmony on. Taking a deep breath, she stepped onto the platform and pushed her glove-clad hand into the icy gold-titanium alloy sleeve.

"Sorry, you won't be able to blast anyone or whatnot," Tony said wryly. "You'd have to connect the power to the chest piece or a makeshift power source, and after your little tantrum I'm not too keen on having you hooked up to my vital organs."

Harmony raised her eyes slowly to meet his gaze. His face was half-joking, half-serious and somewhat offended. She mumbled a complaint under her breath and trailed her free hand over the small piece of Iron Man she held temporary control over.

"I wasn't aware the chest piece was a vital organ," she replied, her sarcastic side beginning to raise its ugly head.

"It is for me," he replied.

"Can I see…can I see it?" Harmony asked, blushing deeply. Tony thought a second.

"No," he finally said. "Maybe another time. When we're more acquainted. And when I have more assurance you won't up and brutally murder me."

Harmony was beginning to feel extremely uncomfortable. Something told her Tony Stark was not the type to take crap, which was exactly what she had dished out. However, her pride was like a concrete wall, and she was not about to fall to her knees and apologize. No, not after _his _'little tantrum' not five hours ago.

"Jarvis, can you take this off?" Harmony mumbled.

"Yes, ma'am, please step onto the platform," Jarvis answered compliantly. She allowed the metal arms to quickly disassemble and unscrew the intriguing piece of equipment off her arm. Although she wished she could explore its possibilities further, she didn't want to spend another moment with Tony.

Both fuming and embarrassed, she flung open the door to his workshop and climbed the stairs swiftly and returned to her room.

It had taken her a mere 5 hours to decide she hated Tony Stark.

**Okay, so here is the deal. I'm getting conflicting opinions. Some say Harmony is a "Mary Sue" and others say she is "too snappy". I'm trying to keep a very delicate balance in her character, writing and establishing an OC is extremely difficult. Please excuse any of the frequent mistakes I make, the worst of which being rushing the storyline, not developing characters, skimping on 'beefiness', or leaving plot holes. I am doing my best and trying to have fun.**

**Again, please review! **

**RomanceDoneWrite**


	4. Just a Little Sweeter

**Hey everyone, once again, a QUICK update. Aren't you happy…**

**Anyways, here is more um…fighting and arguing and Tony Stark. What more can you ask more? Enjoy. And, as always, review!**

The next morning, Harmony got up and jumped into the shower. If yesterday's events were a prequel to today's, she would need to jumpstart her day with a warm shower. Afterwards, she got out, and slid into a pair of tight jeans and a tee-shirt. Scrubbing her hair at the roots, she wandered around her room lazily and dumped her backpack out on the bed. Her prized photo album.

She picked up and thumbed through it. When getting to the last page, she noticed a photograph was missing. It was very recent one of her and Carter together in front of the mall. Strange. She searched through all her junk in her backpack. Maybe it had fallen out. No such luck. Fuming, Harmony slammed the album shut and flopped onto the bed backwards.

Even though her and Carter were going through some rough times, that was her favorite photo of them. Debating whether to call him or not, she stuffed everything back into her backpack and tossed it onto the floor.

"Good morning, Miss Clay," Jarvis welcomed. At first, Harmony was startled, and then remembered who it was.

"What…how are you…in here?" Harmony blinked in confusion.

"I am hardwired all over the house, Miss Clay. I am at your service at all rooms in the Stark Mansion," Jarvis replied. "Anything I can do to assist you?"

"No thanks, Jarvis," Harmony smiled in spite of herself. "Wait. How…I mean…can you tell me where Mr. Stark is?"

"Mr. Stark is in his workshop," Jarvis answered. "Let me know if you require any of my services."

The room feel eerily silent. She really didn't like the prospects of spending all summer with this man who was already overtly driving her crazy. True, she had said and done some…unfriendly things, but Tony had been able to match her jab for jab, and that was more then anything Harmony knew could do. Yes, boiled down to it, Harmony had an unsung respect for this genius.

Quietly padding into the kitchen, Harmony surveyed the dismal scene. The crispy bagel still held its offending residence in the sink, now cold and stiff. Peanuts were strewn all over the floor, a griddle was crusted with batter and the dishwasher cocked open.

Setting right to work, Harmony found a broom in the closet and swept the floor. She emptied the dishwasher, which took longer due to the fact she was unfamiliar with the kitchen. Finally, she washed and put up the griddle and took out the trash – including the bagel. Finally, the kitchen was manageable.

However, after her long cleaning task, Harmony was in no mood to cook. Besides, she was an intern, not a maid. She debated within herself as to the terms of the mansion. She was allowed to leave, but it almost seemed as if she was confined to the classy and neat walls of the Stark mansion.

But she wasn't, so she left.

She was surprised her crappy old pickup hadn't been towed from the premises. It stuck out like a sore thumb against Tony's Audi and several other pricy vehicles in the driveway. She may be smart, but she was not rich, and even a internship for Tony Stark didn't pay overly well. Maybe for an internship, but not for a steady job.

Harmony found a empty, low budget donut shop. She always bought from the small shops for two reasons – they were cheap, and they needed the business.

"I hope Tony likes donuts," Harmony mumbled under her breath as she plopped the boxed dozen onto her ripped up cloth seat. In spite of her justifications at her intentions, Harmony really had brought the donuts as a peace offering. Even though her feelings for Tony hadn't changed in any way, she figured they'd better cope with each other if either intended to make it through the summer with their sanity.

As if Tony smelled her coming, he met him in the kitchen.

"Jarvis said you left. Where did you go?" Tony interrogated.

"Guess," she said a little more sarcastically then she meant to, and slid the box of donuts onto the kitchen counter. Tony cut his eyes from donuts to her several times, as if inwardly assessing the situation.

"Forgiven," he said, and flipped open the lid. "What, no chocolate?"

"Sorry," Harmony mumbled.

"No problem. Just kidding," Tony bit into a donut and wiped his lips. For a second there was a very awkward silence. "Listen, Harmony. I know you're just an intern, but would you mind telling me, or Jarvis, if you leave? I don't like not knowing where my people are."

"Why?" She knew she was just being difficult.

"Because I don't. Now, are you going to come help me?"

"Help you…?"

"Work on what you are hired to work on. The molecular physics and whatnot project," Tony started in on his second donut.

"Oh. Yeah, sure," Harmony nodded and brushed her braid out of her face. "Tony."

Tony raised his large brown eyes to hers and blinked innocently.

"I know what happened last night was…weird. But I think we can…live with each other if we really try. Alright?" Harmony smiled shyly.

"Sure. Just don't go yelling at me, okay? I don't like that," Tony's mannerisms indicated he was slightly hurt by the named action.

"Agreed," Harmony said.

"Lets get to work," Tony grabbed the donuts off the counter and motioned with his head. "Workshop, now."

Harmony almost had a hard time keeping up with him as she wove his way through the house and into the workshop. At the bottom of the stairs, he paused.

"Hey…thanks for the donuts," he smiled.

"You're very welcome," Harmony smiled back. Finally, they had come to some sort of clarity.

Tony had been working on a molecular level model, which had on a table in the workshop.

"What is this for?" Harmony said.

"This is my brainchild," Tony pulled out a stack of papers. "See, I'm trying to get a contract with a company."

"I thought Stark Industries was reconsidering weapons manufacturing," Harmony said, opening the box of donuts, which Tony had left on the end table.

"Yes, we are. But this isn't a weapon. I guess you could say this is a pacifier,"

"How so?" Harmony bit into the soft warm skin of the donut and reveled in the sweet, crusty sugar on her tongue.

"Jarvis, pull up the plans for the project," Tony commanded, rubbing his hands together.

"Of course," Jarvis replied amicably. On the holographic table, several images and an assortment of graphs, charts and equations popped up.

"See, I am trying to create an element that can be put into almost a missile," Tony reached into the mish-mosh of holographs and pulled out a model of a rocket. "It can be safely detonated, but merely releases a gas with pacifies."

"You really need a contract just for a pacifying gas?" Harmony scanned the diagram.

"Its not about the gas, Harmony. It's about signing a contract with a sister corporation. Becoming business partners."

"I wasn't aware Stark Industries needed a business partner," Harmony crossed her arms.

"Times are changing," Tony met her staunch gaze. "Hold this." He handed her the holographic missile gingerly. "Just keep your fingers pointed and palms flat."

Following his instructions, Harmony carefully supported the simulated image on her fingertips in wonder. Remarkable.

"Now, we should be able to make a prototype of both the missile and the element in a month for the company before any other corporations try to edge in for the contract. But we're gonna half to double time it." Tony snapped his fingers and twirled a holographic element structure in his hands. With a finger he twirled it deftly in his palm so Harmony could see all sides.

"Got it?" Tony suddenly smacked his palms together and the model instantly disappeared. He used a single finger to slide the missile off Harmony's wrist and flicked it into a virtual file folder on the table.

"I think so," Harmony watched as Tony snapped both fingers and all the images disappeared.

"Let's get going then," Tony hopped off the stool he had taken up residence on, and snatching a donut out of the box, hop skipped and jumped over to the molecular model. "The actual missile should be a piece a cake. It's the element that's gonna be hard to engineer. It'll be much like an anesthetic, scaled down a simple disorientate. Much of the work is already done. But we need to finish this model to display for our presentation to the company."

"That's it?" Harmony was crestfallen. Simple model building would not expand her knowledge of physics.

"No. If you want to finish up these plans and work a couple of these equations out that'd be great. I'll double check all your work and complete the plans in a second. Just let me finish up this model. Oh, and we have to build the missile, of course."

"That's not a small task," Harmony took the stack of plans from him.

"I know, but I got you," Tony said, and quickly whirled around in the chair and began welding on the model.

Something about the way he said it made something pinch and burn in Harmony's chest.


	5. Some Hearts

The twosome worked late into the day almost in silence except to converse, or when Harmony asked questions.

"So, Harmony, tell me about yourself. Where are you from?" Tony asked.

"Oh, nowhere special," Harmony avoided the question and hunched over the desk a little more.

"I want to know, though," Tony lifted his eyes from the model to meet her gaze across the room. Harmony made eye contact for a second, then dropped her eyes back to the project.

"Alright. I'm from a little town in Rexburg, Idaho," Harmony sharpened her pencil absent-mindedly enjoying the musty smell of the sawdust. "When I was ten me and my dad moved to Casper, Wyoming. He was a…well, he worked for a company that moved around a lot. By the time I was seventeen we have moved twelve times. We ended up in Georgia."

"Where in Georgia?" Tony blew metal shavings off the table and continued his work.

"A tiny town you've probably never heard of. Tifton."

"You're right, I haven't," Tony replied frankly. "So where was your mom?"

"My mom left us when I was eight," Harmony said.

"Oh," Tony paused. "Sorry."

"No biggie. My dad was too much of a floater, surprised he kept me. His sojourner life drove my mom crazy. So she left." Harmony's tone turned cold and flat.

"Any siblings?"

"None," Harmony replied matter-a-factly. "Your turn."

"My turn?" Tony paled a bit. He had attempted to suppress all memories of his childhood.

"Where did you grow up?" Harmony's pencil scratched in a cozy way on the onionskin paper.

"Oh. Here, actually. This is my dad's place. I'd say I was a lot like your mom, I guess. I left my dad when I was eighteen. It took me until I was thirty to come home, after he died, to take over Stark Industries," Tony's voice was low. Harmony had begun to enjoy the baritone, growley tones to his voice.

"And?"

"And…nothing. That's it." Tony sighed. "Are you hungry?"

"A little," Harmony said.

"Want some dinner? Jarvis can order some take-out," Tony offered politely, turning in his chair. His dark hair stood up on end from the friction from the welder.

"No thanks," Harmony replied. "Maybe later tonight. Actually, I'm pretty tired. Mind if I go to bed?"

"'Course not," Tony seemed a bit disappointed despite his reply. "Harmony? Thanks for the company. It gets lonely down here."

"Sure," Harmony replied hesitantly, pausing at the door. "Goodnight."

Tony watched her go. Behind her tough face and polished demeanor, Harmony had some sort of gentle strength and damaged heart. He saw almost the nature of a animal who had learned not to trust anyone or anything. Harmony Clay relied completely on her independent self, but Tony guessed that didn't always work out for the spunky, yet internally wounded woman.

Tony and Harmony worked for several weeks on their project together. Although most of the time, the twosome fought over "who put the wrench in the wrong place" and picked at each other, they seemed to get along fairly decent. Tony was beginning to see Harmony open up to him, trust him, and become comfortable in talking to him.

Tony didn't tell Harmony about the photograph he kept in his bedroom. Harmony was still a code he had was yet to crack.


	6. Just the Same

**I just watched Iron Man 2 on my blueray player for like, the eighty-millionth time! Gotta love that Robert Downey Jr…Or in my case, be obsessed with him. Again, please review if you are enjoying my little brainchild. Reviews are the only things keeping me going.**

**Me likey you all, thanks SO much for reading.**

It was growing late in the day and Harmony was lonely. Tony had been gone when she had woken up at eight that morning. Although she had attempted several times to call him, she had not been able to contact him. However, Harmony wasn't worried. He _was _Iron Man, and he was also Tony Stark. Besides, the Iron Man suit was not in its pedestal, and Jarvis told her he could not disclose the whereabouts of "Mr. Stark". It was obvious he was simply doing a mission and would be back tomorrow. Or hopefully tonight – because Harmony was growing exceedingly forlorn. Jarvis had attempted numerous times to amuse her, turning on the television, making small talk. Even Dummy – one of Tony's very smart and yet very clumsy robots had made her dinner.

But Harmony missed Tony. She had spent every waking moment, however rough or troublesome, with him and wasn't used to being left alone. Not quite sure on what she should do, Harmony simply worked on the 'biodegradable' skeleton for the gas compound.

Finally, Harmony went upstairs to Tony's 'living room' of sorts and played piano. She played and played, singing and tearing through every piano book Tony owned. Six years of piano and voice had paid off. Strangely enough, the sound of the mellow piano and her own voice worked to comfort her.

"Miss Clay, I have warmed a bath for you in your bedroom. Your vital signs suggest excessive solitude and stress," Jarvis said. "Maybe a warm bath would be good to calm you."

"Thanks, Jarvis," Harmony said, sighing a little. She hated being left alone. Flashbacks of days upon days of being alone in whatever motel or apartment her and her dad had recently rented popped into her mind. Whenever her dad did come back, he was hung-over or high. Tony had almost become a reliability figure for her, although anyone else who knew Tony would have _never _called him reliable.

Harmony stripped down and climbed into the deep bathtub, the jets bubbling cozily. She let her eyes flutter close and began to doze.

/-\

Something crashing loudly awoke Harmony. Her bath had grown cold and she felt wrinkly. She heard a loud cough and started up. It had to be Tony – no one could get past Jarvis or security protocols in Stark Mansion. She quickly dried off and slid into a pair of jeans and a tee shirt. The clock said it was almost midnight.

"Tony?" Harmony tried to mask her relief and joy. She turned the corner. "Tony?" He wasn't in the kitchen. She descended the stairs to the workshop and punched in the code Tony had taught her. "Tony?" She called out again.

"Hi," he said, blinking sleepily from across the room. He was leaning against the file cabinet, almost clinging to it. He was dressed completely in the Iron Man suit, except his helmet, which was carelessly dropped onto the floor.

"Are you okay?" Harmony said cautiously, picking up the discarded helmet. Tony didn't seem quite alright.

"Sure," he mumbled, and collapsed onto the floor.

"Tony!" she screamed, and ran to his side. Was he hurt? She quickly cradled his head in her lap, peeling open his eyelids to check his pupils. Tony coughed again. Harmony's nostrils were invaded with the acrid smell of vodka.

"Tony, have you been drinking?" Harmony immediently dropped his head to the floor.

"A little," his eyes rolled back into his head.

"Damn you," she wanted to slap him. "Butterfingers, Dummy, please help me get this off him." She had never seen Tony do anything irresponsible, least of all get stone cold drunk. The threesome, including Jarvis, were able to unscrew and disassemble the Iron Man suit. Harmony managed to drag him to the couch in the workshop and lift him onto it. For a relatively short man, he was very heavy.

She sunk down onto the floor next to the couch, breathing heavily.

"Don't worry, Miss Clay," Jarvis said, "He'll sleep it off and be quite alright."

"Does he do this often?" Harmony panted, still spent from dragging him to the couch.

"He used to, ma'am. Ever since Afghanistan, he has been relatively sober," Jarvis replied.

"And before?" Harmony almost didn't even want to know.

"Not so much, ma'am," Jarvis finished, becoming slightly saddened. Harmony let out an angry sigh. Did every man drink himself into a stupor? She brought a blanket down from his bedroom and spread it over his still form. He mumbled something and rolled onto his stomach, fast asleep. Harmony put a thermos of water, a bottle of aspirin and a bucket next to his bedside. She had plenty of experience to know what a man would need for a hangover.

However furious and blindsided she was by Tony's behavior, she paused by his couch and stopped to watch him breath lightly. She was just able to see a dim blue glow through the tee shirt he had on. The arc reactor. She pulled back the blanket a bit and touched the face of it gently. It was cool and slick through his sweaty shirt. Carefully she pulled the covers over his chest again and stepped back a bit. In spite of the irritation she felt boiling at his carelessness; she felt a strange sense of admiration, and feeling the bond they had developed. She gently pushed his hair out of his closed eyes and ran her fingers through his thick, wavy locks.

Maybe tomorrow she'd be able to sort her feelings out. She climbed the staircase to her bedroom, turning off the lights behind her. Not even bothering to change out of her jeans, she turned off the light, collapsed onto the bed and pulled the blankets up to her chin. In the darkness of the quiet room she cried silently.

She had thought Tony was different.

/-\

"Wake up, sir. It is approximately 10:35 am,"

Tony groaned and rolled over in the bed and burrowed deeper in the covers.

"Sir, please," Jarvis repeated his request. Sleepily, Tony sat up in bed. However, he wasn't in bed. He was on the couch in his workshop. How had he gotten there? How had he gotten anywhere? He thought back to last night's events. Nick Fury had sent him on a mission at 6am that day. He had arrived home at 12am. Sore, battered and extremely discouraged at his life in general, he had done what he had dared not to do for months.

Drink.

Drink himself drunk. Once again, he had left someone else to pick up the pieces.


	7. The Deathmarch

Tony's pulse beat like a drumbeat punctuating some sort of foreboding death march as he ascended the stairs. He couldn't even begin to think of the things he might have screwed up over the course of last night's events. Scores of things he might have said, things he might have done. All he knew is he really needed to talk to Harmony to clear things up about last night's events.

However, she was nowhere to be found. Not in the workshop, obviously, not in her room or bathroom, kitchen, living room, den, not anywhere.

_Shit,_ Tony thought. _I must have done something absolutely crazy or ridiculous last night. I hope I didn't try to get her to sleep with me! I don't think about her in that way. I don't do that stuff since…well…since Afghanistan. _

Tony sat down on the couch with an icepack and some aspirin that had been next to the couch in his workroom. Letting out a loud burst of air through his lips noisily, he left himself to the course of his restless thoughts. Why had he had to drink last night? Why, why why? He probably had messed up the close bond he had developed with his intern.

Finally, after several minutes, he laid back on the couch and closed his eyes. He needed to sleep the hangover off anyways before he could fathom talking to Harmony.

Three hours later, Tony was awakened by the sound of someone entering the through the kitchen. Their keys jingled noisily as they tossed them onto the kitchen counter and dropped their purse. Tony sat up quickly, running his fingers over his head to tame his wild hair. Harmony entered the room very apathetically, but stopped abruptly when she saw Tony. Her eyes turned stony.

"We need to talk," Tony said, as humbly as he knew possible.

"Why?" she said, remaining completely emotionless. "There is _nothing _I want to talk with you about." Not sure how to proceed, Tony let her walk stiffly out of the room, leaving behind a thick, heavy silence. Damn. She was pissed.

But Tony couldn't just let her walk off. He had to solve whatever mess he had made. Slowly sitting up, fending off the loud pounding of his head, he climbed the stairs to her bedroom and knocked softy on the door.

"What?" came her snappy voice.

"Please, may I come in?" Tony bit back every once of pride in his body.

"Why?" she quickly retorted.

"We need to talk," Tony repeated himself lamely, pinching the bridge of his nose and staring down at his face, studying the wore tips of his tennis shoes he had pulled on in the workroom earlier.

The door swung open slowly to reveal Harmony standing, arms crossing in front of her, legs spread in a defensive position, lips pursed and brows furrowed. He r long, silky ponytail was dangled over her shoulder and cascaded in ripply waves down her chest.

"You're really…cute when you're angry," Tony smiled, trying to add some levity. She frowned.

"That's all you can say?" she snarled. "That I'm _cute _while withholding myself from breaking your hungover little neck? Well, then, I'm about to get _real _adorable." Tony's smile fell from his lips, and he cleared his throat nervously.

"Listen…I really want to talk about what happened last night, but…I don't exactly remember the turn of events that transpired."

"Figures," Harmony sighed, letting her arms drop by her side. Tony took it as a good sign. "You came home drunk. In the Iron Man suit. I took it off you, put you on the couch. Where you proceeded to sleep off your drunken stupor."

"Oh," That was all? Why was she so angry?

"As Iron Man, I would have expected more responsibility from you then that," she proceeded, barreling through her annoyance.

"It's been…" Tony gulped in some air and shrugged his shoulders, "It's been a long time since that's happened, believe me."

"It doesn't matter," Harmony bit off each word carefully. "The point is, it did happen." She turned to shut the door, but Tony caught it mid-swing.

"Why are you so angry? Everyone gets stoned sometimes," Tony blinked in confusion. Harmony paused a bit, then turned back to him.

"I thought you were better then that. Guess I was wrong," she tried to shut the door, but Tony held it fast.

"I should have been," he admitted. "But I wasn't."

"Yeah…so?" she gritted her teeth.

"So I guess…I'm apologizing," Tony nearly choked on his words. "I'm sorry." Harmony seemed surprised by his total humility. "I shouldn't have broken your trust in me like that. You trusted me to be sober and reliable, and…I wasn't. So, I'm sorry."

Harmony was frozen, as if turning over the authenticity of his apology in her head.

"Okay," she said. "I forgive you. I guess. But I'm still angry."

"I would expect you to be," Tony shrugged casually and tucked his free hand in his pocket. They stood in silence, his hand still holding the door in place, hers still gripping the handle. Finally, she let go of the handle and stepped close to Tony.

"I've never had a reliability figure in my life. At least a man," she whispered, as if sharing a deep secret with him. She lifted her dark eyes to his. He could feel her sweet breath, hot and quick. Tony kept his grip on the doorframe, his open arm almost receiving her advance in a protective manner.

"Well, I'm not a very good role model," he said, willing to keep cool. She blinked a bit.

"Of course you are, Tony," she murmured, her eyes unwavering. "Just because you blew it, doesn't mean you're not capable of it."

Tony moved a bit closer, decreasing the gap between them. He felt her hesitate a bit, almost as if contemplating her comfort level with how close they now stood. She almost seemed like a frightened deer, who at any moment, could dart away. Somehow, Tony almost found her injured spirit and vulnerability intriguing.

"I wish I could be one for you," Tony said. "But I can't." And for the first time in his life, Tony turned away from a women and left her hanging.

Harmony stood in the doorway for a moment, catching her breath.

It been a long time since a man had provoked strange stirrings in her heart. Maybe she far from hated Tony Stark now, despite what he had done. She turned and retreated to her room. Today, she would not work with Tony on the project. For some reason, she felt a need to keep some space between them.

**Well, finally some romance between them. Hope it wasn't too rushed, but I felt it was a good time for some prequel romance. There will be more to come, but I'm not gonna rush it!**

**Please please please review! I need reviews to keep writing.**

**Me likey! You likey?**

**RomanceDoneWrite**


	8. Hurt and Not Healed

**Please review! Sorry this is such a quickie. **

"Finished!" Tony cried excitedly and flashed the peace sign. Harmony shook her thick mane of hair and laughed.

"Let's get this into the trailer so we can get to the airport and get this thing shipped on time for our flight to New York. Beating out the other companies, remember?" Harmony smiled. Nodding, Tony ran to help her lift the heavy object which had been consuming so much time.

"Dammit!" Tony yelped in pain as Harmony unknowingly slammed the door of the trailer royally hard on his finger. It was approximately 2 ½ weeks into their summer together and they were finished with their project. In fact, they were loading it into a trailer hooked up to Tony's huge Dodge Ram. Tony had a Dodge Ram – Harmony couldn't believe it. Well, he pretty much every car at his disposal anyways. _That _did surprise Harmony.

"Oh, my God, I am so sorry," Harmony jumped back, clamping her teeth on her finger in horror. "You're bleeding."

"Just a bit, I'll be okay," Tony said between gritted teeth.

"Not, not just a bit," Harmony stepped forward again and gently grabbed his hand. "Damn, I must have slammed that door hard. Let me get a bandage, that's gonna swell." Quickly, she ran up to the front door and went in. Now where did Tony keep the bandages? She finally found them in the workshop desk drawer, and came out minutes later with a bandage and ointment. By then, Tony has positioned himself on the back of the pickup and had his finger in his mouth.

"Here," she said, and as she approached, he stood up and met her halfway. Clearing her throat nervously as she took her hand in his and wrapped the finger gingerly. When she finished, she let go of his hand slowly, but he slowly curled his fingers around hers, holding her tight in his grip. Bit by bit, she raised her eyes to meet his deep brown ones. She felt her breath hitch in her chest and the soft hum of her heart speed up. He stared at her unblinkingly. Did he really like her, or was he just being a player like she had heard he was?

Tony stared deeply into Harmony's soft, innocent hazel eyes. If he could only taste the sweetness of her lips he knew everything would be alright. He got that feeling in his stomach he quite frankly feared. He knew he was falling in love – not in lust, but in love. He had gotten to know her and found her not only full of character and beauty, but purity and pain. He somehow found that very attractive.

She remained stock still. She was waiting for him to make the first move. Another reason he liked her. She never teased him, but let him make the first move. When they had cuddled – somewhat, on the couch at a movie last night, she hadn't tried, but simply laid her head on his shoulder after he put his arm over the back of the couch behind her. She always asked him about what to do on the project and was thorough and careful.

Could he do it? Maybe it was dangerous to indulge in such a effective thing as a kiss. He had already thought of how it might ruin their professional relationship, but he really didn't give a shit at this point. Her soft lips were upturned, her eyes wide. She still stood still, as if enchanted by his gaze. He stepped forward a bit, savoring the stirring temptation of being so intoxicatingly close. She stepped back slightly, and found herself with her back pressed to the car.

She was unsure, but Tony knew she wanted to kiss him. He stepped closer again, and she didn't attempt to flee. He stepped forward until he could feel her leg pressed into his. She smelled like perfume and a hint of shampoo – strawberries. The familiar smell of strawberries that heralded him to her approach.

Harmony's chest rose almost erratically as she took in expectance gulps of air. She wanted him, he just knew it. He took a fistful of her hair in his hand and let it sift through slowly, and her gaze intensified. He let his fingers trail over her soft ivory neck and around the back of it gently. Her lips parted slightly in surprise and he felt her breath shudder in her chest. Gradually he lowered his lips to hers, and then pulled back a bit. Her breath was hot and sweet on his lips. He came on again, opening his mouth a bit and closing it, and she drew in a breath. He knew he was just teasing her now.

Then he closed his lips around hers and he immediently felt her reciprocate. Her body relaxed, her legs shook a bit, and her arm grasped his to support her. She kissed him back passionately. The two stood kissing, passions arising, the kiss intensifying until they had to come up for air. She went limp against him, almost clinging to his shoulders. He let his arm fall around her waist, supporting her gently. Then he felt her begin to sob.

"What's wrong?" he whispered huskily, but she pulled away, sobbing onto his shoulder. Then she weakly pulled away and staggering into the house, crying bitterly.

Why had Harmony began crying?

Tony knew she was still an enigma. Someone had hurt her and she wasn't completely healed yet. Tony leaned back against the truck and slid down until he was sitting on the hard ground. He almost wanted to cry, too.


	9. Too Much to Lose

Harmony gripped fistfuls of dark hair in her fists, sobbing bitterly. She knew she just couldn't go back to Tony and tell him why she couldn't ever be with him, ever lead a normal relationship with anyone. She had to let Tony go, anything she'd do would just pull him down. He needed to present that missile himself. Scribbling out a note quickly, she shoved everything she could find in her bags and pulled out her cell phone.

"Carter?" she said when a male voice answered her call. "You're right. I'm nothing without you. Can you meet me? Like, in ten minutes? Malibu, yes. Okay." Grabbing her bags, she quietly tip-toed out of the mansion, fortunately not encountering Mr. Stark. Her time there was up. She didn't deserve to be there. Never had.

. . . . . . .

"Harmony?" Tony slowly stalked into the kitchen tossing down his sunglasses onto the table. "Can we please just talk about this? I know it's complicated, but we're intelligent individuals. We can discuss this civilly. Harmony?" Looking down, his eyes dragged over a damp note on the table, next to the sunglasses he had just discarded. Picking up the note, he read it over quickly.

_Tony,_

_I'm sorry, but I have no choice but to resign. I cannot continue to remain in such a involved relationship with an employer. I have gotten back together with my old boyfriend and will not be returning. I wish you the best with your presentation. _

_Love,_

_Harmony_

Tossing the note down roughly, he grabbed the keys to his Viper up quickly.

"Jarvis, track Miss Clay and upload GPS to my Viper. Thanks," Tony jogged to his car briskly. He was not going to let her go. No – both of them had too much to lose.

**Yes, I know it has been MONTHS since I updated! Sorry, I've been so busy…**

**I promise more updates, BUT ONLY IF YOU REVIEW!**

**Me likey lots of reviews **


	10. The Truth, Please

Tony ignored the chilling wind in his face and sped up.

"Jarvis, where is Harmony now?" he yelled over the whir of the wind.

"Two miles ahead of you. Stopped at a red light, sir," the machine replied ever so meekly from the GPS.

"Keep me posted," Tony replied.

"Take a right," Jarvis reminded him. Tony obeyed just in time to avoid getting sideswiped by a gutsy Ford F150. Thoughts raced through his mind. Where was she going, and why? He knew it wasn't simply that she couldn't carry on a non-professional relationship. Or was it Carter, the boy in that photo he still had? Maybe she knew he had gone through her things, taken the photo. Maybe she was afraid. Tony didn't exactly have the best reputation with women. But he thought she knew him better then that – saw him for who she really was. Tony woodenly followed Jarvis's commands.

"Sir, she is stopped at building approximately 500 yards from your current location, west," Jarvis snapped Tony out of his deep thought. Tony hung a quick right, skidding dangerously into the parking lot. Sure enough, there was her cherry red compact car. And she was still in it.

Tony unbuckled his seatbelt and slowly climbed out of the car. What was he going to say to her? Plead for her to stay or ask her why she was leaving? Probe her for her past, her reasons, the girl behind the silken mask she upheld? Yell or talk softly? Beg or command? Kiss her, or shake some sense into her?

Tony's time for thought was up. With shaking hands, he tapped on the cool window. Harmony's large hazel eyes were slowly raised to his, her look full of surprise, and still somehow expressionless. Her eyes were puffy and red, her lips swollen, hair in ragged tufts around her pinkish face. She looked so young.

"Harmony," Tony tapped again, more imperatively this time. "Can we just talk about this? I have no idea what's going on." Harmony sat in silent for another moment, then rolled down the window.

"Yes," she said. "Did you get my note."

"Why else would I be standing here?" Tony shuffled on his feet heavily. "Either you've gotta get out or I'm coming in." Harmony's eyes looked pleading, for what he knew not.

Tony leaned down closer, face poking slightly into open window.

"Harmony. What's wrong? Is it me? Or someone else? Do you need money? What did I do?" Tony asked, voice husky and low. Harmony reached up, threading a soft hand through his hair. Tony felt his stomach jump into his throat. Her lips trembled, and tears threatened to spill over her heavy lids.

"It's not you, Tony, its me," She replied in almost a whisper. Without warning or warrant, her lips came up, ghosting his lightly, fingers quivering, which still laced in his hair. Tony let her soft lips brush over his several times, aware of his thinking being clouded by her simple touch. What did she mean by it being her?

"Harmony," Tony said, and could feel the hot air of his breath bouncing off her face. "You have to tell me what's wrong." Harmony's breath shuddered in her chest. "Please."

Then Harmony's lips covered his, hot and warm and demanding. She tugged at a tuft of his hair, and he reciprocated, almost being pulled into the window. One hand supporting him against the window, the other trailed across her long neck. When Tony finally came up to breath, she clung to his arm, not releasing it, somewhat like a child clinging for support and help. Her lips traced across his neck and under his chin, leaving a string of kisses.

"Are you just trying to distract me and avoid the issue?" Tony asked, laying his forehead against hers, stopping her from her warpath of concupiscence kisses. Harmony was silent. Tony detangled her from him, and forcing a confrontation, opened her car door, motioning her to get out. Harmony, head low and eyes downcast, got out.

"What is wrong?" Tony's tone was commanding and staccato. The sky cracked loudly above them, and Tony heard a raindrop hit the hood of the car.

"Please," she said, shuffling her feet.

"Please, what?"

"Please don't make me say."

"Harmony," he repeated her name, beckoning for an answer.

"I'll do anything. Just please don't make me tell you," she said, fingers dragging over his chest lecherously. Tony caught her hand and held her wrist firmly.

"Seriously. You're better then this. You're not a prostitute. All I'm asking is for you to be honest with me. One moment you're telling me you quit, and you never want to see me again. Next moment you're kissing me and offering me who knows what. There is more to you then you tell me, or probably tell anyone. And I need to know. Now." He was firm and unmoving. Raindrops fell faster, pelting the hood of the car, reducing Harmony's hair to wavy, dripping mess.

Harmony finally raised her eyes to his. Tiny droplets of water trickled out of his thick hair and over his dark, piercing eyes, the dribbled off his chin and goatee.

"I'm running from myself," Harmony replied.

"What the hell does that mean?" Tony's eyes darkened.

"I don't know how to love, Tony. I can give you anything but love,"

"Who doesn't know how to love?"

"Me,"

"Of course you do. You love me, don't you?" Tony probed. "Don't you? Harmony. Don't you?" Hooking a finger under her chin, he forced her to look at him again.

"When you haven't been loved, you don't know how to love yourself. You don't know the meaning of love."

"Bullshit," Tony spat angrily. "Who the hell told you that?"

"I just know it."

"That's crap. Love is the only thing humans actually know how to do. Granted, we don't always do it right. We screw it up. Just look at my life. But god knows I know how to love. And so do you. But that's not the point. The point is not loving yourself, Harmony. Love is getting over yourself enough to put someone ahead of yourself,"

Harmony sobbed, tears mingling with rain.

"Do you love me. Tony, do you love me?" she whispered, crying.

"Yes," he said. "Yes, I do."

Harmony in a child-like wonder, lifted her eyes to his, lips curving in a invigorated smile.

"Now, please, come back to the Stark mansion and tell me everything,"

"Everything?"

"Don't you think I deserve to know who you really are, Harmony?"

Harmony nodded.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"You can thank me later," he said. His fingers curled gently around her neck, pressing cold wet strands of hair into her chilled skin. "Let's get you warm and dry." He turned around, reluctantly releasing her. He was halfway to his car before he realized she wasn't following.

"Tony!" she called at him. He turned, scrubbing a hand through his dense, soaked hair.

"Yes?" He replied back. She ran to him, eyes closed, hands open for him to hold. Her caught her in his arms and held her tightly, as she pressed her head against his chest, listening to the beat of his heart.

"I won't hurt you, I promise," Tony whispered. Harmony pressed her wet lips to his and this time he met her halfway, returning the ardent caress.

"Harmony! Is that you?" A voice, angry and questioning rang out behind them. Harmony, releasing Tony, whirled around, her hands clenched, lips pale, eyes wide.

"What are you doing?" the man was tall, thick in the shoulders, wide in the chest. Eyes dark and flashing, lips pursed, hands curled into fists, staring fiercely at Tony.

"Who are you?" Tony asked, putting a hand protectively on Harmony's shoulder. He was wife-beater if he had ever seen one.

"I'm Carter," the man growled angrily. "Harmony's boyfriend."

**Reviews, please! That's the only reason I updated … to please you guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I promise to update soon if you comment soon! ;)**

**Hannah / RomanceDoneWrite**


	11. Walk Away

"Her…boyfriend?" Tony asked, eyes wide and blinking. The young man, not taller then Tony and slightly younger, with flashing tan eyes and a square jaw, nodded fiercely.

"Tony, I was going to tell you," Harmony stepped out between him and the man. "This is Carter, my boyfriend."

"I didn't know you had a boyfriend," Tony whispered, clearly angry.

"I was going to tell you," Harmony murmured, eyes pleading. Turning away, Tony walked until he reached the hood of the car and slammed his fist on it.

"Was it all an act, Harmony? Further your career, maybe?" Tony yelled back at her, white teeth flashing from between reddened, swollen lips.

"No!" Harmony screamed back, voice hoarse and pained.

"Then why did you _tell me_?" Tony flicked his finger from Carter to himself.

"I said I was going to!" Harmony sobbed.

"I'm done," Tony began to walk away until her small hand caught the soaking edge of his dress shirt.

"Please," her voice was barely audible in the pouring rain, strands of her wavy hair covering her left eye, the other dark bright. Almost all the brown was gone from her hazel eyes, almost making it a dark electric green. Tony had found out the colors changed by her mood. Green was emotional, blue was happy or depressed – more greenish when sad, more aqua when happy, and brown was angry. Her eyes were more green then he had ever seen them before.

Tony paused. Of course, he was furious beyond belief, but could he leave this woman he had come to love in the pouring rain?

Yes, he could.

Large fingers gentle but firm, he pried her grip from his sleeve and walked away.

"Tony!" Harmony called after him. Her voice rang in his ears, echoing shrilly, but he pressed his hands over his buzzing ears. He was done. He had loved her, and chased after her, and she had never loved him. Probably had never cared. Climbing into his car, his eyes downcast, he turned on the engine and made the mistake of looking up.

Her silky blouse, soaking wet, clung to her slender figure, hands heavy on the hood of his car, hair hanging over her shoulders, nearly completely covering her bright eyes. Lips tight and dark red, shoulders tense. Tears speckling his car. Tony, setting his jaw in an effort to resist her guile, back out, yanking the car out from under her hands, making her fall heavily to the muddy ground. Did he even care?

His body was numb, his emotions raw, but he knew he cared.

**Reviews and I promise to upload another chapter ASAP! I already have it written ;) So you know what to do. If you want more, let me know. I can wait :D**

**RomanceDoneWrite / Hannah**


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